Making an Internet connection




Please excuse me sending a fax; I'd love to be sending this by e-mail, but unfortunately Internet connection is the problem. I had a slower computer (486DX-33) running Windows 95 and a 14.4K modem connected to an Internet Service Provider and had no problem at all. In fact, I thought this was fantastic, the only problem being it was a tad too slow for my liking. I sold the computer and modem, bought a Pentium 100 with 16550 UART chip and a 28.8K modem for not much more than I got for the old setup, and installed Win95 again.
After spending a month on the phone to OzEmail's technical support, I still am no closer to getting a connection. It will simply NOT connect.
- Jan Trethewey


Does your modem dial at all? Try connecting to the OzEmail Terminal Server using something like Hyperterminal. If you can connect using this method, your problem probably lies in the configuration of the dial-up networking component of Windows 95.
Firstly, make sure you have added the TCP/IP protocol and the dial-up adaptor in the Networks Control Panel.
You can connect to OzEmail manually, where you type in the connection commands into a terminal window at connect time, or you can automate the log-on with a script. If you don't have the CD-ROM version of Windows 95 or the Microsoft Plus pack you may need one of these to successfully script your connection to OzEmail.
To connect manually, go to the Dial-up Networking window (Programs--Accessories) and choose Make New Connection. Name the connection OzEmail and choose your modem from the selection and configure it. In most cases the Standard Modem will do. Under Options be sure to select Bring up terminal window after dialling. This will allow you to manually enter your name and password at connect time. Some modems don't detect dial tone correctly, so you may like to deselect Wait for dial tone before dialling under the Connection section.
Once this is finished you must configure the properties of the OzEmail connection. To do this select OzEmail in the Dial-Up Networking window and use the right mouse button to select Properties. When entering the telephone number make sure you are dialling the 28.8K OzEmail service number and not the 14.4K service number. Turn off the Use Country Code and Area Code if you are making a local call.
Now you need to configure the Server Type. Choose PPP:Windows 95, WindowsNT 3.5, Internet as the Server type. Select Log on to Network and Enable Software Compression. Make sure TCP/IP is selected as an allowed network protocol. You must also configure the TCP/IP settings.
For TCP/IP select server assigned IP address. You can also specify name server addresses with Primary DNS set to 203.2.193.124 and secondary DNS as 203.3.192.124 (this is for OzEmail only -- obtain IP addresses of Domain Name Server from your Internet Service Provider). Use IP compression and use the default gateway on the remote Network. Now it's time to dial in!
Double-click on OzEmail in the Dial-Up Networking window and choose connect. If your modem is behaving, you should hear it dial and handshake with the receiving modem. Upon connection a terminal window should appear.
At the Service? prompt enter ppp followed by Return. Then enter your user name and password. When it says "switching to PPP" and rubbish characters appear, hit the <F7> function key to let Windows know that PPP data is being received. Now you should be connected. Try opening a MS-DOS prompt window and type ping 203.2.193.124. If you get a response then your TCP/IP is working fine.
To automate things and avoid using the terminal window, you can create a script to connect. Use the Dial-Up Scripting tool under the Accessories window. Choose OzEmail in the connections window and call the script OzEmail.scp. Now you can edit the script. It should look like the following:
proc main

transmit "^M"
waitfor "ervice?"
transmit "ppp"
transmit "^M"
waitfor "sername:"
transmit $USERID
transmit "^M"
waitfor "assword"
transmit $PASSWORD
transmit "^M"
waitfor "witching"
endproc

Deselect Step through script and select Start terminal window minimized.
Don't forget to change the Modem properties so that Bring up terminal Window after dialling is no longer selected. Click Apply before you close Dial-up Scripting tool. Be sure that your OzEmail name and password are being correctly entered when connecting.
- Ian Yates


Category: Internet
Issue: Sep 1996
Pages: 147-148

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